The History of Lithium Therapy PDF Download

Author: Gin S. Malhi
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319459236
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
This book provides a clear and comprehensive guide to the clinical prescription of lithium that draws upon evidence-based knowledge of its mechanisms of action. The book is divided into two parts, on the science of lithium and the practice of lithium therapy. The former covers aspects such as the properties of the lithium ion, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, impact on neurotransmission, and gene expression modulation. The section on practice includes discussion of variability in response to lithium, use of lithium in the treatment of bipolar disorders, its value in suicide prevention, administration during pregnancy and in the pediatric age group, and side effects. Lithium is arguably the only true mood stabilizer, and its multifaceted effects across many clinical domains have given rise to a resurgence of interest in recent years, fuelled by both researchers and clinicians. Nevertheless, its use remains constrained by exaggerated concerns about potential side-effects. In reality, lithium is a simple molecule that is relatively straightforward to administer and monitor and has potentially profound benefits at a fraction of the cost of contemporary agents. This book dispels the many myths and concerns that surround its use and will be of interest for clinicians and researchers worldwide, and those that are recipients of lithium therapy.

Author: Frederick Neil Johnson
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349072893
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description

Author: Walter A. Brown
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 1631492004
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The remarkable untold story of a miracle drug, the forgotten pioneer who discovered it, and the fight to bring lithium to the masses. The DNA double helix, penicillin, the X-ray, insulin—these are routinely cited as some of the most important medical discoveries of the twentieth century. And yet, the 1949 discovery of lithium as a cure for bipolar disorder is perhaps one of the most important—yet largely unsung—breakthroughs of the modern era. In Lithium, Walter Brown, a practicing psychiatrist and professor at Brown, reveals two unlikely success stories: that of John Cade, the physician whose discovery would come to save an untold number of lives and launch a pharmacological revolution, and that of a miraculous metal rescued from decades of stigmatization. From insulin comas and lobotomy to incarceration to exile, Brown chronicles the troubling history of the diagnosis and (often ineffective) treatment of bipolar disorder through the centuries, before the publication of a groundbreaking research paper in 1949. Cade’s “Lithium Salts in the Treatment of Psychotic Excitement” described, for the first time, lithium’s astonishing efficacy at both treating and preventing the recurrence of manic-depressive episodes, and would eventually transform the lives of patients, pharmaceutical researchers, and practicing physicians worldwide. And yet, as Brown shows, it would be decades before lithium would overcome widespread stigmatization as a dangerous substance, and the resistance from the pharmaceutical industry, which had little incentive to promote a naturally occurring drug that could not be patented. With a vivid portrait of the story’s unlikely hero, John Cade, Brown also describes a devoted naturalist who, unlike many modern medical researchers, did not benefit from prestigious research training or big funding sources (Cade’s “laboratory” was the unused pantry of an isolated mental hospital). As Brown shows, however, these humble conditions were the secret to his historic success: Cade was free to follow his own restless curiosity, rather than answer to an external funding source. As Lithium makes tragically clear, medical research—at least in America—has transformed in such a way that serendipitous discoveries like Cade’s are unlikely to occur ever again. Recently described by the New York Times as the “Cinderella” of psychiatric drugs, lithium has saved countless of lives and billions of dollars in healthcare costs. In this revelatory biography of a drug and the man who fought for its discovery, Brown crafts a captivating picture of modern medical history—revealing just how close we came to passing over this extraordinary cure.

Author: World Health Organization
Publisher: World Health Organization
ISBN: 9241547693
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
This manual attempts to provide simple, adequate and evidence-based information to health care professionals in primary health care especially in low- and middle-income countries to be able to provide pharmacological treatment to persons with mental disorders. The manual contains basic principles of prescribing followed by chapters on medicines used in psychotic disorders; depressive disorders; bipolar disorders; generalized anxiety and sleep disorders; obsessive compulsive disorders and panic attacks; and alcohol and opioid dependence. The annexes provide information on evidence retrieval, assessment and synthesis and the peer view process.

Author: James Greenblatt
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781511716482
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
In a nation plagued with chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, a different predator is the single greatest reason for disability in the United States: mental disorders. Our fast-paced and frenetic lifestyle, coupled with a grossly polluted environment, has created the perfect breeding ground for mental instability. With the spread of brain disorders on the rise around the world, nutritional biochemistry and one of its stars, lithium, has stepped into the spotlight to offer proven methods to heal our bodies from the inside out. Historically linked to severe psychiatric illness, lithium as an agent of good health and well-being is often ignored and brushed aside. Known as the Cinderella drug, it is an essential mineral in our physical and psychological makeup. Lack of its presence in the body can result in poor brain development, psychiatric symptoms, and so on. When administered in small, controlled doses, lithium can significantly improve the lives of those suffering from mental disorders. Nutritional Lithium: A Cinderella Story illustrates the significance of this precious mineral not only as a nutrient vital to human development, but also as a nutritional component that can help millions of people worldwide.

Author: James L. Levenson, M.D.
Publisher: American Psychiatric Pub
ISBN: 1615375139
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 896

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Book Description

Author: Greg de Moore
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1952534755
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 399

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Book Description
The first biography of the ground breaking Australian doctor who discovered the first pharmacological treatment for mental illness. For most of human history, mental illness has been largely untreatable. Sufferers lived their lives - if they survived - in and out of asylums, accumulating life's wreckage around them. In 1948, all that changed when an Australian doctor and recently returned prisoner of war, working alone in a disused kitchen, set about an experimental treatment for one of the scourges of mankind - manic depression, or bipolar disorder. That doctor was John Cade and in that small kitchen he stirred up a miracle. John Cade discovered a treatment that has become the gold standard for bipolar disorder - lithium. It has stopped more people from committing suicide than a thousand help lines. Lithium is the penicillin story of mental health - the first effective medication discovered for the treatment of a mental illness - and it is, without doubt, Australia's greatest mental health story.

Author: Robert L. Findling
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9781841840543
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Bipolar disorders were once considered rare in children and adolescents. A growing body of scientific evidence now suggests that they may be more prevalent in this group than previously believed. At the same time, the practitioner faces significant clinical challenges in both the assessment processes and also the implementation of a treatment plan. A paucity of treatment manuals and pharmacological algorithms providing practical guidance makes the task of the clinician even more difficult, despite the fact that more is known about the assessment, neurobiology and treatment of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder than ever before. Written by three distinguished experts, this book conveys to clinicians all the information currently available in this area. They review both the neuroscience and also the integration of rational, practical, pharmacological and psychosocial interventions. Based on what is known, a sound approach to the assessment of these youngsters can be developed. Similarly, available evidence allows practitioners to ground their treatment protocols solidly on scientific knowledge. Concise and authoritative, Pediatric Bipolar Disorders will give the reader a practical approach to both the art and science of providing the best possible clinical care to children and adolescents with the disorder. This book is written primarily for clinical psychiatrists, but will also be of interest to non-specialist doctors and other members of the health care team.

Author: S. Nassir Ghaemi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199995508
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 601

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Book Description
Clinical Psychopharmacology offers a comprehensive guide to clinical practice that explores two major aspects of the field: the clinical research that exists to guide clinical practice of psychopharmacology, and the application of that knowledge with attention to the individualized aspects of clinical practice. The text consists of 50 chapters, organized into 6 sections, focusing on disease-modifying effects, non-DSM diagnostic concepts, and essential facts about the most common drugs. This innovative book advocates a scientific and humanistic approach to practice and examines not only the benefits, but also the harms of drugs. Providing a solid foundation of knowledge and a great deal of practical information, this book is a valuable resource for practicing psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, medical students and trainees in psychiatry, as well as pharmacists.

Author: Johan Schioldann
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780980547702
Category : Drugs
Languages : en
Pages : 363

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Book Description
This book traces the history of lithium therapy back to the 1800s. It contests the notion that the Australian man John Cade, who pioneered lithium therapy in Australia in the 1940s, was the first man to use the therapy. Tracing the history of lithium therapy, and evaluating Cade's research and potential breadth of reading and resources, the author comes to the conclusion that Cade was aware of previous writings on the topic but never acknowledged it. Cade has therefore become known as the 'pioneer' of this therapy, incorrectly.